Think off-road and the first thing popping up in your mind will either be the Toyota Land Cruiser or the Land Rover Defender or the Range Rover. From conquering the Scottish Highlands to the Deserts of Sahara, these iconic vehicles have set legendary off-roading standards in their present avatars.

But time is change and although the Land Rover Defender has been one of the ablest off-roaders in the world, it is now quite dated (it was launched first in 1948 and hasn’t seen many changes), not to mention the crass boxy looks. Which is why Land Rover have now announced the Defender in a new avatar, called as of now - the DC100 concept.

The success of Land Rover’s gorgeous Evoque has inspired in the company a newfound focus on aesthetics. And just looking at the concept photos one can fathom as to what extent this holds true for the Land Rover in present times. As a true to core, Range Rover Evoque fan it was hard for me to acceded but – Hot damn, the Defender concept looks beautiful!

Needless to say JLR’s design team has really come of its own now and if this concept can actually build on the Defender’s serious off-roading abilities then JLR have a hit under their bonnets for sure.

As of now we are expecting a 2.2 Liter Euro V Diesel, that’ll be capable of 90 kW or 122 hp and a 360 NM torque. The outer body will be based on a lightweight, mixed-alloy platform that includes cutting-edge, sustainable, hi-tech materials taken from aerospace industries.

The new Defender will also come with a new ‘Wade Aid’ technology that uses sonar to assess water depth and advise the driver of the optimum speed to take when tackling it! Then there’s the Driver-activated spiked tyre system can be deployed at the touch of a button!

A hybrid and a plug-in version is also in the charts. Seriously, Land Rover we can’t wait for you to launch the new Defender. Till then I guess we’ll just oogle at the pictures.

For more DC100 & DC100-Sport images click here!